CELTIC CONFIDENTIAL: The legend who has already written off the Bhoys’ chances against Bayern… plus, the Parkhead star still celebrating Philadelphia Eagles’ Super Bowl glory

In a refreshing change to the bland fare served up by most official football outlets, the German Bundesliga’s website doesn’t mind voicing an opinion or two.

Ahead of Bayern Munich’s visit to Celtic Park, there is no attempt to pretend that the glamour tie will produce anything other than a victory for the visitors.

At the top of a match preview, the headline reads: ‘Five reasons why Bayern Munich will progress against Celtic in the Champions League’.

Those five reasons include Bayern’s recent all-conquering form, Harry Kane’s record-breaking strike rate and the Germans’ vast experience at this stage of the competition.

They also point to their eight-point lead in the Bundesliga, which enables Bayern boss Vincent Kompany to concentrate on Celtic, despite a match against second-placed Bayer Leverkusen coming up on Saturday.

If the Bundesliga website are ever looking for a new writer, meanwhile, they need look no further than the legendary Lothar Matthaus.

He insists there’s ‘no danger’ Celtic can beat Bayern over two legs.

Clearly no-one is going to argue with a man who earned a record 150 German caps, won the Euros in 1980 and the World Cup ten years later.

Now 63, he reckons the play-off is going to be a breeze for the Bavarians – and had clearly seen enough when Celtic were hammered by Borussia Dortmund earlier in the campaign.

‘I don’t see any danger for Bayern at all in the games with Celtic,’ said Matthaus. ‘Their chances of reaching the Round of 16 are very good.

‘Celtic have a home and an away face. The Scots won 3-1 at home against RB Leipzig but, remember, they lost 7-1 at Borussia Dortmund.

‘I know Bayern may have conceded three goals in Rotterdam against Feyenoord and also against Holstein Kiel in the Bundesliga.

‘But they kept a clean sheet in their last game against Werder Bremen and looked better.’

With one eye on a Bundesliga table that sees Dortmund langushing 11th at the moment, Matthaus added: ‘Everything is going well for Bayern at the moment. They are showing the quality they have … in contrast to Dortmund.’

As way of a postscript, the bold Bundesliga website have been known to get things wrong, as they did before a certain Champions League tie last November.

On that occasion, the headline read: ‘Five reasons RB Leipzig will beat Celtic in the Champions League’.

And we all know what happened that night.

How Philadelphia fan Trusty’s gridiron career ended before it even began

Auston Trusty was on top of the world after seeing his beloved Philadelphia Eagles win the Super Bowl – and recalling how he hit rock-bottom after his own gridiron career ended when he broke his foot while accidentally booting someone in the head.

The Celtic centre-half had a crack at breaking his way into American football during his schooldays, but called it a halt after one game in which an attempt to kick the ball between the posts ended with an opponent laid flat out on the deck.

‘I was kicking a field goal at the time and my centre didn’t block his man,’ Trusty told club media. ‘The opposition player ran for the ball and jumped towards it head-first.

‘His head ended up where the ball was supposed to be and I kicked him directly in the head, though, thankfully, he was wearing a helmet.

‘I pretty much broke my foot and, in that moment, I decided I was done. I was going to focus on soccer.

‘I have no idea what happened with that guy, but he definitely had a concussion. That was the end of my American football career.’

Trusty was thrilled to see the Eagles come out on top against the Kansas City Chiefs in the early hours of Monday morning after being unable to afford the ticket prices to enter the stadium and cheer on his favourites as a kid.

‘When I was at high school, I didn’t have the money to go to the games, so you would just go to the tailgate (party) before,’ he said. ‘You would get dropped off and sit in the parking lot for the entire game.

‘The game is cool, but the tailgate is better.

‘Growing up as an Eagles fan is just part of being a Philadelphian. It’s a cultural identity. Like growing up in Glasgow, being a Celtic fan. That’s part of the culture.’

Critics of Celtic board may have to put pitchforks back in cupboard

An acknowledgment from Celtic that the club’s dealings in the winter transfer window fell short of expectations is fast becoming the norm around this time of year.

While the return of Jota and a loan move for Jeffrey Schlupp were roundly welcomed, the failure to land a suitable replacement for Kyogo Furuhashi after he departed for Rennes angered many supporters.

Unlike this time last year, however, it’s hard to accuse the club of simply stockpiling money for the sake of it.

Celtic still had £65.4million in the bank on December 31 – putting them in a different financial league to the rest of Scottish football.

But given they had £77.2m sitting in their account last June, and £67.3m a year past in December, it does look like there’s an ongoing commitment to spending at least some of the cash reserves.

For all Celtic made £21.5m in player trading last summer, helped in no small part by Matt O’Riley’s £25m move to Brighton, there was a big price to pay for twice breaking their own transfer record by signing Adam Idah for £8.5m then Arne Angels for £11m. There’s also the ongoing cost of the Barrowfield development.

Despite more money being on the way from UEFA for a minimum of four additional European matches in the new year, the club were also keen to manage expectations for what the second half of the financial year might bring.

Chairman Peter Lawwell wrote in the interim accounts: ‘The club’s earnings profile and cash generation from trading is biased toward the first half of our financial year and we naturally expect a seasonal downturn in earnings in the second half of the year.’

Celtic are unlikely to be pleading penury any time soon. But the trend in their financials across the past year and predictions for the future suggests that £77.2m figure will remain the high water mark.

The board’s critics may have to put the pitchforks back in the cupboard.

Maeda firmly on track to be Scottish football’s Player of the Year

The availability of Daizen Maeda is a huge boost for Celtic as they prepare to take on Bayern Munich in the Champions League.

The Japanese striker was set to miss the first leg in Glasgow due to a suspension incurred after he was red-carded in the match against Young Boys last month.

But Celtic’s successful appeal means they can, after all, call upon a player who has been in the form of his life recently.

No longer is Maeda regarded as a forward who doesn’t quite have the end product to go with his astonishing work rate.

This season, he has added goals to his lung-bursting efforts, and done it so prolifically that records are under threat.

By scoring three in the 5-0 victory against Raith Rovers last Saturday, he became the first player since Moussa Dembele to net three hat-tricks in a 12-month period.

Dembele’s trebles, between September 2016 and February 2017, famously included his ‘perfect’ hat-trick – header, left foot, right foot – in a 5-1 thrashing of Rangers.

His Scottish Cup hat-trick followed one against Livingston in the same competition last March and another when Aberdeen were Celtic’s League Cup opponents last November.

If he were to grab another before March 10 – he has five opportunities at most – he would match the four hat-tricks scored by Henrik Larsson in 2002.

It’s a tall order, but the 27-year-old is on fire right now, with six goals in his last three games and 22 in his 38 appearances this season.

Not bad for a player who is first and foremost a winger, best known for closing down opponents and the ferocious determination with which he tracks back.

Add that to his seven assists in the Premiership, more than any other top-flight player this season, and you can see why many are tipping him for Scotland’s player of the year award.

Gustaf could earn Celtic a decent fee if Twente turnaround continues

Gustaf Lagerbielke’s progress at Twente Enschede continued at the weekend with a goal in their 3-3 draw with Heerenveen.

The Swedish centre-half, on a season-long loan from Celtic, rose in the six-yard box to head home his second goal in four games for the Dutch club.

Now a fixture in Twente’s defence, he has a Europa League play-off against Bodo/Glimt to look forward to on Thursday night.

Lagerbielke has gone from strength to strength since his temporary move from Celtic, a year after they bought him from Elfsborg in a deal worth around £3m.

Having made only eight appearances last season, he seems unlikely to resume his career with the Scottish champions, despite a contract that runs until 2028.

Twente do not have an option-to-buy clause as part of the loan deal and there may be competition for his services come the end of the season.

Unless Celtic change their mind about the 24-year-old’s potential, they will settle for the decent transfer fee that his improving form is likely to command.

Nakao hopes to be the new Naka after being handed No 25 shirt

Celtic’s women’s side have gone back to the future by handing their new Japanese signing the same shirt number as former club legend Shunsuke Nakamura.

Momo Nakao signed a deal with Elena Sadiku’s side at the end of the transfer window after playing in the American college system with the University of Memphis and has already been given the No 25 jersey made famous by Nakamura with the men’s team.

The 22-year-old midfielder also has compatriots in the current men’s side in Daizen Maeda and Reo Hatate to help her settle in to life in Glasgow.

Nakao hopes moving to Scotland helps her join Maeda and Hatate in winning international caps for her country.

‘Many players from Celtic have been called up to the national team and I hope to become one of them as well,’ she told the official club programme. ‘Celtic is a huge club in Japan too. It is a traditional team that everyone knows.’

Fans could have been forgiven for thinking Ajer was part of Old Bhoys renuion

Kristoffer Ajer reappeared at Celtic Park last Saturday as a VIP guest for his former club’s 5-0 Scottish Cup last-16 win over Raith Rovers.

The big defender, who left for Brentford in a £13m transfer in 2021, was spotted by Mail Sport outside Parkhead before kick-off, chatting with supporters and happily posing for photographs.

Ajer had a weekend off as a result of the FA Cup taking place in England – with Brentford having been knocked out by shock troops Plymouth in the previous round – and enjoyed the action from a seat in the centre of the main stand.

With Jota back out on the wing and Kieran Tierney having agreed a summer return from Arsenal on a pre-contract, it’s a wonder the Norwegian didn’t end up on the park. 

The way Celtic’s signing policy is going, you can’t rule anything out.